By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Worried by the incessant distruction of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) facilities across Nigeria byarsonists, its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Wednesday summoned an emergency meeting with the 36 Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
In his opening remarks, Prof. Yakubu declared the incessant arson on INEC facilities as acts of aggression which may undermine the Commission’s capacity to organise elections and dent the nation’s electoral process.
According to him:”The spate of arson and vandalisation targeting the Commission’s facilities and property has become profoundly worrisome”.
Prof. Yakubu however stated that it is, “in the light of the current circumstances, today’s (Wednesday)meeting with RECs, who lead our offices in the States, will take briefings from across the country on threats to INEC facilities and deliberate on how best to protect them. I believe that we can dig deep and draw from the Commission’s longstanding partnership with communities in this regard, in addition to depending on the invaluable support of our security agencies.
“Consequently, the challenges posed by these threats notwithstanding, we are still positive that we can find lasting solutions to the spate of attacks on our facilities. However, this must be done quickly to forestall disruptions to several upcoming electoral activities, particularly the CVR exercise which we plan to undertake continuously in 2,673 centres nationwide for a period of over one year involving thousands of INEC officials supported by security personnel”, Prof. Yakubu posited.
